We were privileged to be shown around the property of Beulah one recent the weekend by the very passionate farmer and owner of the property, Bill. Bill has this energy of genuine concern and mindfulness that surrounds him. He speaks with such passion about what he does and the food he grows for our families. It is obvious that in every piece of produce that comes out of Beulah, a small piece of Bill’s heart and soul is in the essence of that fruit or vegetable. It fills me with such intense appreciation to know that there is someone like Bill, growing our food - who is genuinely concerned about what he is putting on my family’s meal plates. One day, as we sat eating at our meal table, I said, “We are so blessed to have farmers who grow our food for us” and our child responded with “and so lucky to have people to grow this beautiful food without chemicals”. Hear Hear!
Bill showed us around his farm, the outdoor growing spaces, the greenhouse and the orchards. Our tour led down to the pristine water source of the farm where the children were delighted to scoop their hands in and be able to drink right from that refreshing source. Bill spoke to us about his background. Coming 5 years ago from a trade background, with no farming knowledge or experience he poses the question “If I can grow food like this, how can folk who have lived in the soil their whole lives not do the same”. Bill goes on to say that organic farming is so much more than just not spraying. It’s about living in harmony with the land, respecting the soil, reading the signs, listening to the messages that Mother Nature openly shares with those who will listen. When Bill stands there and with the most loving gesture waves his hand to the ground, he says “God put the grass there for a reason, to keep the soil moist and protected - you spray, you loose all of that - then the problems start...” As he trails off from this sentence, Bill shrugs his shoulders and shakes his head in dismay and confusion as to why people would do this. I nearly wept tears of such extreme respect when I stood there is Bill’s presence and heard how he speaks with such love and understanding about how natural, farming can and should be. He has an amazing ability to generate this extreme reverence in us for the gifts of nature that we are blessed to receive.
It was wonderful to hear Bill share his experiences, learnings, suggestions and ideas with us. He was not at all guarded about techniques he uses and openly shared many, many suggestions with the group who frantically tried to scribble down each piece of organic growing advice as the next one flowed in Bill’s words.
We left the property with a deeper level of appreciation for where our food comes from and an amazing respect for the folk like Bill who consciously grow nutritious food to feed, heal and grow our bodies every single day. I love the final lines from
Food Inc and it seems appropriate to close this article with those words; that we make three main votes every day on what kind of food we want produced. Whenever we run a food item through a supermarket scanner, we vote, one way or another - which way do you choose to vote?
